Cracking, popping noise in walls and ceilings

Asked Mar 13, 2007, 07:06 AM
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15 Answers

I've been living for 3 months in my new 3-story townhome, and I've recently
Noticed loud cracking noises coming from various locations along my interior and exterior walls and ceilings. The noise only occurs once, although different locations can pop at around the same time.

These noises come intermittenly. Sometimes I won't hear anything for hours, and then within the span of a minute, I'll hear several cracking noises along various locations, and it seems to be worse in the mornings. The noises seem to be coming mostly from the top floor. Also, some of my floorboards on the third floor have come slightly loose and now the floor creaks.

I live in Indiana and I didn't notice any noise when I first moved in during November. The noise seemed to started with the extreme cold weather at the start of the year and has gotten worse as temperatures have increased.

Is this just normal new home settling noises or something else? And is there anything I can do to fix it?

It definitely sounds like your home is settling, big time. You will most likely start to see nail pops and small cracks forming at doorways and/or windows. The temperature changes at lot in the morning when the sun hits your roof so you are also experiencing building materials giving up moisture absorbed before and during construction. Your builder should have responsiblility to for repairing settling cracks, nail pops and flooring problems. However, discuss this with him first, many only allow a one time call back. This problem will diminish over time.

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Thanks for the quick answer. If the cracking sounds are home settling noises, is there a reason why they seem to be concentrated at the top of the home?
My townhome is the end unit for a 6-unit row of homes.

Also, I haven't seen any nail pops or drywall cracks. When should I expect these to start appearing? Right now, all I notice are some very small cracks that run along the edges of the room, where the drywall meets the ceiling.

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Nail pops can happen anytime during settling but are most common in the first year. Settling is not a very even or uniform process since it depends on the soil beneth the fiundation, which varies foot by foot. The ceiling wall joint just appears to be your weakest point. The movement is exaggerated the higher up within the building. Double check with your builder or his subs regarding their call back policy.
Take time to rate my answer, especially if I was good.

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I've been living for 3 months in my new 3-story townhome, and I've recently
noticed loud cracking noises coming from various locations along my interior and exterior walls and ceilings. The noise only occurs once, although different locations can pop at around the same time.

These noises come intermittenly. Sometimes I won't hear anything for hours, and then within the span of a minute, I'll hear several cracking noises along various locations, and it seems to be worse in the mornings. The noises seem to be coming mostly from the top floor. Also, some of my floorboards on the third floor have come slightly loose and now the floor creaks.

I live in Indiana and I didn't notice any noise when I first moved in during November. The noise seemed to started with the extreme cold weather at the start of the year and has gotten worse as temperatures have increased.

Is this just normal new home settling noises or something else? And is there anything I can do to fix it?

The settling could also be attributed to wood frame shrinkage, If this is a 3 story structure then it will be more exaggerated. It can also depend on snow loading, vaulted open ceiling timber usage, shearwall design on interior common walls with the next door unit, etc. One thing I recommend checking more than anything else is the foundation for cracks. I have seen some new homes that are not solid to the hardpan, but that were on stepped stemwalls in 3 story designs. If this is a slab floor three story, then the footing under the slab may not carry the bearing load between the units if the soil is saturated. There are too many things that contribute to noises, so keep an eye open before you call in the general contractor. You have at least 12 months warrantee time for corrections.
As ballengerb1(as in CA B1?) says, wait a while longer and take notes.

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If this is a slab floor three story, then the footing under the slab may not carry the bearing load between the units if the soil is saturated.

I have been googling this very issue for a month now. My house was built back in Aug 05, and I still hear random knocking sounds throughout the day. They sound similar to when a loud thunder happens. How can you check for the above condition you stated? I have been in this house for going on 3 years and I know the builder was horrible. Also I have noticed more and more nails popping out on the 3rd floor baseboards.

Thanks for any help!

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I have been googling this very issue for a month now. My house was built back in Aug 05, and I still hear random knocking sounds throughout the day. They sound similiar to when a loud thunder happens. How can you check for the above condition you stated? I have been in this house for going on 3 years and I know the builder was horrible. Also I have noticed more and more nails popping out on the 3rd floor baseboards.

Thanks for any help!

Check the foundation stemwall perimeter for any cracks. There are strain gauge strips that you can place across the cracks to monitor the width progression of each crack. Knowing where the cracks are concentrated will give answer to location where house needs settling corrections. Good luck. Ben Jacks, Author of Illustrated Residential Wiring by Electricians and Contractors. PM for book.

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Check the foundation stemwall perimeter for any cracks. There are strain guage strips that you can place across the cracks to monitor the width progression of each crack. Knowing where the cracks are concentrated will give answer to location where house needs settling corrections. Good luck. Ben Jacks, Author of Illustrated Residential Wiring by Electricians and Contractors. PM for book.

Thank you very much for such a quick response. I am new to 'Ask Me' is there a way I give you points? On a different note, since I lived here for more than a year is there anything I can do to have this fixed by the builder?

I was a first time buyer and didn't know about all these things! The builder outsources so bad that my panel box is all mis-labeled too, the list goes on...

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Thank you very much for such a quick response. I am new to 'Ask Me' is there a way I give you points? On a different note, since I lived here for more than a year is there anything I can do to have this fixed by the builder?

I was a first time buyer and didn't know about all these things! The builder outsources so bad that my panel box is all mis-labeled too, the list goes on...

Depending on if this was a new home versus one a few years old would make the difference as to what can be done for getting the contractor to fix major structure failures. As far as getting compensation, there may be options by going to the news media that generally expose shoddy work of contractors in the community. Through a media public complaint department, resolutions happen by getting the builder (who wants to stay in business) to make restitution or repairs. Also, some States require a real estate disclosure form be filled out by the seller. Some times non-disclosure can be a legal foothold in getting compensation for lack of being 'above-board' in known construction flaws at the time of sale.

Secondly, there are ways to test and identify your branch circuits for re-labeling the panel. A 3 story residence would be at least a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home that may require a more concise description of each branch circuit and the associated wire gauge and breaker sizing for the circuits. There are few books out there that do define circuits such as Illustrated Residential Wiring by Electricians and Contractors.

I see a lot of this when doing home inspection and it is sad that buyers do not get the full disclosure of not so visible home defects. I hope some of my remarks may help.

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Hello, I seemed to be the same problem in my house. My house is 1.5 year old. On my second floor, I can hear the Popping noise from inside wall of my master bedroom sometimes. It is hard to trace where the popping noise is because it is in different place every times. I asked the builder when I moved in. The builder said it is new house and need to be settling. It is absolutely normal. It will be OK after 1 year.

I am just worrying about if there will be something wrong than normal? I can see3 hairline cracks in my garage floor. The hairline cracks all access to the drain place. Also, the builder said it is absolute normal, it is shrinkage crack.

I will be appreciated to get some suggestion from here.

Thanks in advance.

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See below... seems like a good explanation. I have a new home 3yrs old and experience thses strange noises

... expansion and contraction. The ticking, clicking and cracking noises are a by-product of metal ducting and pipes and plastic drain lines that are rubbing against the wood framing members of your home. These pipes and ducts grow in size as they are heated by the warm air and water that passes through them. The expansion is a perfectly normal thing to happen, but the associated noise is not supposed to happen.

I have a house that was built in the 1950's and this happens on the upper floor any time the weather gets exceptionally bitter. I've lived here for 30 years and have never seen any problems other than a nail or two popping through the drywall. However, the sound can be pretty scary.

A couple of years after we first moved into this house (in Cleveland, Ohio), we had a really bitter winter that gave me a particiulary good scare. Our bedroom was in built in an old attic space and the ceiling was only a few inches below the roof. During the bitterest part of that winter, we started hearing loud noises that sounded like gun shots. Bang â€¦ then several minutes later we'd hear another loud bang. I couldn't imagine what it was and I was even afraid that something was seriously wrong and the house might be getting ready to collapse.

The next day talked to my (immigrant) mother about it and she just laughed. She told me it was just nails slipping and â€śpoppingâ€ť. She explained that sometimes when the weather gets really cold the nails in a house will shrink enough to slip and the sound they make is a loud bang. She said that in the â€śold countryâ€ť they called something which I loosely translated into â€śJack Frost's gunfireâ€ť. She considered it completely normal.

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I have a house that was built in the 1950's and this happens on the upper floor any time the weather gets exceptionally bitter. I've lived here for 30 years and have never seen any problems other than a nail or two popping through the drywall. However, the sound can be pretty scary.

A couple of years after we first moved into this house (in Cleveland, Ohio), we had a really bitter winter that gave me a particiulary good scare. Our bedroom was in built in an old attic space and the ceiling was only a few inches below the roof. During the bitterest part of that winter, we started hearing loud noises that sounded like gun shots. Bang … then several minutes later we’d hear another loud bang. I couldn’t imagine what it was and I was even afraid that something was seriously wrong and the house might be getting ready to collapse.

The next day talked to my (immigrant) mother about it and she just laughed. She told me it was just nails slipping and “popping”. She explained that sometimes when the weather gets really cold the nails in a house will shrink enough to slip and the sound they make is a loud bang. She said that in the “old country” they called something which I loosely translated into “Jack Frost’s gunfire”. She considered it completely normal.

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You know this thread was started in 2007, right? You can always start your own post by clicking on ASK. All sounds normal to me based on what you say. Concrete floor always get hairline cracks. New homes settle and the wood dries out causing some nail pops on the drywall, maybe even smalll cracks below window frames too. Got any of that?

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My brothers has lived in his house for 10 years, since he first moved in he had crackling sounds. Lately he started noticing several parts would crackle one after the other. Even the dresser and TV. Then he started noticing that the house would crack every morning at the same time. THen our uncle spent the weekend at his house and said he had a nightmare about hell and told my brother he should consider having the house blessed. A few days later my brother heard the noise and said out loud "Go away I dont want you here you are not welcomed please leave" He has not heard the cracking noise ever since.

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I have the same problem, but my house is 16 years old... There are no major cracks in the foundation as we just pulled up our carpet and put in laminate. It is only on the exterior walls that I notice these sounds, but they are especially in the back corner of the house. What would I need to get fixed to make this sound go away? I live in Orlando, FL, so our temperatures are not extreme as I was thinking that it could have something to do with that. Thank you!

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